Sign having detachable display elements



July 7, 1925. 1,544,723

- E. L. BUXBAU M SIGN HAVING DETACHABLE DISPLAY ELEMENTS Filed Sept; 15,1924 f" .1. z 2 y {a F y 15 Eye. If

fiZUezZZb f Patented July 7, 1925.

. E 'WiiB Mfi'wI AGQ 'ILLmQIS.

SIGN HAVING nE'rnoHABL rmPLaY; ELE ENTS;

Application. filed sptember li 1924.;z Seria1 N0.1 737,704.

To aZZ' w/tom 2'25 may concern 3- useful Improvement in Signs HavingDetachable Display; Elements,;and declare the following to be a full,clear, and-exact description of the same, such }as ,will. enable,

* adepth equal to thethickness of a" sheet of metal L that isto carry:the; name" or other had to the accompanying drawings,which i-matter tobe-displayedw The member 4t is others skilled in the; art towhich. itpertains to make andzusethe same,- reference being form a part of thisspecification. --It is C0n1II1QI1 pI'210t106;111*OlfiC8S,q l)3I1kS andthe like containing numerous people-to provide each desk or cage with asign bearing the name .oftheoccu-pant. *Thesesigns must not-only beneatbut they mustjbe sub-- stantial and have gthe -appeara-nce of per-zmanency, and it has therefore been customary to make them out ofmetal,=each nam'e plate being dH lI1CllVldLlll casting ofqbronzeorothersuitable material. =Thusthe1bettersigns or .p'lates have :been:quite expensive. The object of :the present inyention is to produce asimple, and novel-signer display device that will permit the use-of thinem bossed metal for carrying words, names or display devices .of anykind,'in such a man: ner that the structure as a. whole will have thesame degree of solidity and permanency and be just as neatand attractiveas the old solid cast signs, but will be much less ex pensive than thelatter.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterizedwill hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the the claims;but for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects andadvantages, reference may be had to the following detailed descriptiontaken in con-- nection with the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1is a front elevation of a desk sign arranged inaccordance with thepresent invention; Fig. 2 is an end view of the device shown in Fig. 1;Fig. 3 is a rear view of the device, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 4 is asection taken approximately on line l4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 3, showing only a fragment of the device, one of theclamps being open and one of the clamp-engaging studs being in section;and Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a fragment of a modifiedconstruction.

.Refeiring the drawing, 1. represents a flat plate having a longrectangular opening 2 go through the same; thisiopening being adapted tocontainthename or otherz'matter to be displayed and the plate thus servij I 1,544,723

.j UNITED "PAT NT gogg es;

ing as .a frame surrounding such matter. nAs

best shownin Fig. 4, there is a depression 3 .in the rear ofthe-member'l surrounding theslot or. opening; this depression havingcuttosuch a size and shape that it will fit lnthe recess in the rearface of the/support- "ing plate, and the letters. 5' or other things;to-be displayed, arewembossed in the-sheet v-metalso as to" projectforwardly through the opening or slot; in the supporting plate. Thesheet metal 'isto Tfragile to retain its .shape without being solidlyreinforced, and

I-have therefore provided'astr0ng'back plate 6, larger than the sheetmetal plateso that thelatter is completely concealedwhen the backplateis laid overxthe same. Onthe rear side of the member l are; two pairs ofheaded .situds 7,,7 and 8, 8, the studs of each pain-lyingonopposite'sides of the slot or .opening,;;a-nd the .two pairs beingspaced apart lengthwise of the slot. vThe back plate is preferably madesomewhat wider than the distance between the studs of each pair, and isprovided at its edges'with notches 9 but permitted to be placed betweenthe studs.

On the rear side of the back plate are firmly against the front plate orframe.

The back plate not only holds the display plate in place but it forms asolid backing for the latter and gives thereto a rigidity .and a degreeof permanency comparable to that possessed by a heavy solid cast plate.

If desired, the back plate may initially be bowed somewhat as shown .indotted lines in Fig. 4, so that when the ends are drawn against theframe, the central portion will exert a spring pressure on thenameplate, thus insuring that the name plate will be solidly backedthroughout its length.

If desired, instead of making the name plate or display plate in asingle piece, it may be made out of a plurality of pieces arranged sideby side. Such a construction is shown in Fig. 6 in which there are alarge number of small pieces or panels 1 each bearing a letter or otherdevice, or being simply a blank to serve asa spacer. By making eachletter or other device in the form-ofa separate piece, any desired nameor legend, within the capacity of the opening inthe supporting frame,may be assembled out of stock pieces I The. front plate or frame may besupported in a usual or suitable way. If it is in-' tended as a desksign, it may be provided with supporting feet'in the form of wings 15produced by bending the ends of the frame or plate rea-rwardly;the'lower marginal portions or corners of the wings being cut away atthe angle necessary to permit the front face of the sign to bepositioned at the desired angle.

'Each clamping bar may be provided w1th two ears or PIOJGOUOHS' 17rising from opposed long edges. on opposite sides of the pivot. A persondesiring to unlock or lock the device can easily turn the clamping barsby grasping the two ears of each between a thumb and forefinger; or, ifa bar should happen to be wedged very tightly, a pencil 'or paper cutteror other stiff element can be inserted between the ears and used as t alever'to turn the bar.

Y with particularity only a. single preferred 7 modification, I do notdesire to be limited form of my invention, including'a slight to theexact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend tocover all forms and arrangements coming within the definitions of myinvention constituting the appended claims.

. I claim: a

1. A. stifi metal front plate having a sight opening, the rear face ofthe plate being depressed around saidvopening, a sign made of sheetmetal fitting in said depression and having embossed'matter projectinginto said opening, headed .studson the rear of said front plate adjacenttosaid depression, a heavy back plate overlying said sign in the spacebetween said studs, and beveled locking members movably mounted on saidback plate in positions to be engaged "under the heads o-fsaid studs topress the back plate firmly against the front plate.

2. A stiff metal front-plate having a sight opening, the rear face ofthe plate being depressed around said opening, a sign made of sheetmetal fitting in said depression and having embossed matter projectinginto said opening, headed studs on the rear of said front plate adjacentto said depression, a heavy back plate overlying said sign in the spacebetween said studs, beveled locking members movably mounted 011 saidback plate in positions to be engaged under the heads of said studs topress the back plate firmly against the front plate, and ears risingfrom each of said locking members and serving as finger pieces by whichsaid members may be moved.

In testimony whereof, I sign the specification,

EMANUEL L. BUXBAUM.

